The Visitors
by Cathook
Summary: Dila (OC) lives in a post-apocalyptic world. The survival style of life is all she has ever known, but she dreams of something different. One day four strangers arrive, who might just be the key to the changes she craves. (A classic SG-1 adventure told from the perspective of one of the natives on the planet they visit.)
1. The Visitors - Chapter 1

**The Visitors**

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 **Summary:** Dila lives in a post-apocalyptic world. The survival style of life is all she has ever known, but she dreams of something different. One day four strangers arrive, who might just be the key to the changes she craves.

A classic SG-1 adventure told from the perspective of one of the natives on the planet they visit.

 **Timeline:** Could be set at any time in the earlier half of the series.

Please leave a **review**!

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In the Fuge food is useful, not enjoyable. It isn't bad-tasting but bland and textureless, everything about it concentrated on providing nutrition to the expense of every other feature. I swallow it down in quick gulps, forcing myself not to gag at the consistency that carries the mind to watery mud. I am used to it, as we all are, but for some reason I will never stop wishing it was different. That everything was different.

From history class I know there was a time when life wasn't like this. A time when human beings didn't have to cling to survival so tightly that everything else faded away. It seems to me that we cling so hard it has made us forget, despite the lessons taught and learned, and the thought shakes me even though I don't entirely know why.

All I know is that life hasn't always been this – a desperate grab for continued existence – and I can't help believing that somehow it could be different again. Can't help believing that there must be some way out of this, some solution to the things that drove us here. I just haven't found it yet.

After dinner I head up to the roof. I have a little free time before it's time for chores and I like to spend it looking out the big skylights. My mother thinks I'm a little loony. There's nothing to see out there, she says. There's nothing alive outside the Fuge. I often wonder if she is right; if we really are the last survivors on this planet.

The bell chimes through the hallways, calling us to do our duties. I've got cleaning today. With a last longing look out the window I trudge down the stairs. The images etched in my mind carries me through the days. If I close my eyes I can see the city stretching out in all directions, the streets intertwining in a maze I long to get lost in.

I've never been out there. We are sealed in; have been ever since our forefathers took their refuge here. But I dream of it, sleeping and awake. I know the Outerworld only from history class, but it's always been more real to me than the bleak existence we lead inside the Fuge. I just know there has to be a way to get it all back.


	2. The Visitors - Chapter 2

_I run. The breath catches in my throat, but I don't stop. Ground flies by under my feet. I have never run this fast in my life. There isn't much room for running inside the Fuge. But I'm not there anymore. The ground beneath my feet is new, and old. It is the streets of the city, and the blurs whizzing by on either side of me are the buildings. The goal for my sprint comes into view – the Great Ring – and my feet halt before it. My chest is empty on air and full of anticipation. I've no idea why. The sight of the Ring up close fills me with joy and dread. Something extraordinary is going to happen – soon._

I wake in my bed with my heart pounding against my ribs, winded as if I had really been running. The images of the dream are still clear in my mind; the Great Ring looming over me and the churning amalgamation of feelings in my chest. Darkness and silence presses on me. There is no light in the Fuge at night. No point spending power when everyone is sleeping. I can't stay where I am.

Silently I slip out from under the cover, tip toeing through the sleeping hall by memory. I've been up enough times in the night to find my way around the beds even in pitch dark. I know how to keep from waking any of the other children.

I meant to go to the bathroom and then return to bed, but something else is calling me. I climb the stairs to the roof. It's still dark when I reach the top, but out the east window there's a hint of pink on the horizon. I only barely notice it. My eyes are called by the Great Ring. I have to see it. Just have to. It looks small from up here, sitting in the park a few blocks away. It's only the distance, in actuality it is supposed to be just as big as its name suggests. No one knows anymore what it once was for. There are many theories; the most popular being that it was a statue. It's a novel thought, for something so big to have been made solely for decoration.

The rosy light spreading from the rising sun reveals details of the world. In the morning light it doesn't look nearly as dead as the elders would have us believe. It may be gray and void of plants or animals, but it just looks empty – not dead. My eyes find the Ring again. In my mind I add the details distance has erased. The symbols, the red beacons… The beacons! Was that imagination? A trick by the reflected sun?

A bigger light erupts – blue – and this time there is no doubt even though it is still hard to believe. I rub my eyes. It is still there; a disc of shimmering blue inside the Ring. Pressed against the glass pane I stare at it, every inch of me trying to reach out towards it. Then there is movement. Something appears from the blue. I squint and manage to make out its gray color, and that it's rolling like some kind of vehicle. There are plenty of vehicles sprinkled on the streets throughout the city, but I have never seen one of them move.

The gray vehicle comes to a halt a short distance from the Ring. For a while it sits there and I watch it breathlessly. Then all of a sudden more figures appear from the blue. These are smaller, greenish – and they are walking. They're people! Four people come out of the blue before it disappears. They mill around the Ring and their vehicle for a while, then they set out into the city.

I watch them until they disappear between two high-rises. When they're gone I stare at the spot where they disappeared. I can't think. There aren't supposed to be anyone out there. All I've ever known says there can't be. And yet they are. I should tell someone.


	3. The Visitors - Chapter 3

It's impossible to concentrate. I keep losing track of what the teacher is saying. I've stopped taking notes. Soon he's going to notice. I glance at the wall clock for what must be the hundredth time.

I told the elders of the strangers. They were angry at first because I woke them up before the morning toll, but I think I made my case quite well. They went into a loud discussion the likes I have never seen, and forgot all about me still standing there. Some of them wanted to send a search team out to find the strangers at once; others thought we should be careful and hide. A few didn't even believe me. They thought I had been dreaming. In the end they settled on sending the search team.

I didn't see them go out. To reach the Outerworld you have to wear protective suits and pass through a long row of airlocks. Anyone working in the passage takes a big risk each time they let someone out and no one is let near without the proper authorization. But I know they went out and I've been counting every minute since, wondering if they've found the strangers yet.

"Dila! Listen up or I'll have you on detention."

Snapped out of my thoughts I feel my face heat, but I try to meet professor Colch's eyes. He doesn't like cowards.

"Sorry, sir."

The professor nods. I'm off the hook this time. He goes back to his lecture and time turns back to a crawl. The numbers turn over on the clock. Lunch comes and goes. At least while I eat I don't have to pay attention. It actually helps if you try to not notice what you're shoveling into your mouth.

We're well into the afternoon lessons with Mrs. Flooy when the announcement goes out on the PA system.

"This is elder Rand, calling all inhabitants to the Gathering Hall. Repeat, all inhabitants to the Gathering Hall. Thank you."

The class rushes out the doors before Mrs. Flooy has time to call 'class dismissed'. We are like a river running down the hills in the spring. At least I imagine it so; I have never seen any water that didn't come out of a tap. I try to push my way through but I can't go faster than the others. Streams of all ages join us children and the flow bottlenecks in the doors to the cavernous Gathering Hall. I tap my feet in impatience and inch forward. When I'm through the doorway I rush to find a seat at the front.

The hall fills up quickly, though we run out of people long before we run out of seats. It was built to hold a much bigger crowd. Elder Rand steps up on the dais. The murmurs hush immediately.

"My fellow inhabitants, this is a momentous day. We have visitors."

The silence is broken to a million pieces by the return of hundreds of voices. Everyone has an opinion on the news, and most of them seem to think it is a joke or a vicious lie. I have to curb my irritation by sitting on my hands. Up on the dais Rand is shouting for people to calm down, but it takes him quite a while to regain the room. By then I have moved on from sitting on my hands to clasping them tightly and biting my knuckles.

"We have visitors," Rand repeats and halts another eruption with an upheld hand. "They have travelled far to reach us and claim to come in peace. The doctors have given them a thorough examination and I can assure you that they untouched by the scourge. They are entirely safe, and they have agreed to participate in some genetic tests that may prove helpful to us. The arrival of these visitors is an opportunity and I ask you all to welcome them as friends."

I listen halfheartedly to his speech. Most of what Rand ever says is political nonsense, sometimes containing a kernel of useful information. I have long since learned to sift through the balderdash while I employ my eyes to observe. What I see now is a group of peacekeepers entering the Hall, herding the four green clad strangers towards the dais. It doesn't take long before others start noticing. The strangers stick out in more than one way. Their clothes clash with the dull gray we all wear, but most of all none of us have seen their faces before. We all know each other here. A new face is just short of extraordinary.

I study them hungrily. Drink in every detail. They're all adults, one a little older than the others. His hair is gray and there are lines on his face, but he still looks strong. The leader for sure, perhaps an elder of their people. Next to him walks a man with dark skin. I've never seen someone so dark, or so obviously dangerous – even unarmed. The third man looks younger and he is wearing glasses. A scholar. His gaze seems to drink in everything they touch with the same ferociousness as mine. The last of the strangers is a woman. Her hair is blonde and short and she carries herself with the air of a warrior. I've never met a woman who was a peacekeeper before, but I think she could be one.

The bespectacled man steps up on the dais. He flashes a bright smile across the room.

"Thank you for your warm welcome. I am Daniel Jackson. These are my friends Colonel O'Neill, Major Carter and Teal'c. We are peaceful explorers from a planet called Earth. I hope our peoples can become friends."

In contrast to elder Rand, Daniel's speech is short and succinct. I like him straight away and I keep watching him while Rand gets back to speaking without a point. He listens politely but his eyes keep dancing around the room. For a moment his eyes connect with mine and I think he gives me a wink. At last Rand finishes up his rant. The visitors are ushered out again and the hall plunges into clamor.

Under cover of the chaos I sneak to the door and glimpse the visitors disappearing down a corridor with their peacekeeper escort. I follow them, keeping my distance so the peacekeepers won't notice. I only want to see where they'll be staying, I tell myself.

We walk far, into parts of the Fuge I've very rarely been. The structure was built to house up to ten thousand inhabitants, and to call it huge would only be a fitting description. Not even someone as restless as me has explored it all. The further we go, the more I start to suspect that the visitors are intentionally being placed as far away from the living quarters as possible. I wonder why.

Once I've seen where their room is I pick my way back to the children's sleeping hall. I'm in bed before lights out. No one has missed me. I smirk under my cover as I listen to the other children fall asleep.


	4. The Visitors - Chapter 4

_I run. The path is familiar and easy. The corridors of the Fuge lie empty before me. My feet dance across the concrete floors. I'm pulled by a sound. I have to run faster. There's no time. It will soon be too late. I am far down now, rushing through the lab section. I'm close. The sound is stronger. It's voices. Screaming voices. They're in boxes. The visitors. In glass boxes. And there's another sound. Thump, thump and grind, grind. A machine coming to life. Fluid pours into the boxes and they are screaming, screaming. I try to reach them, but my legs won't work. And now I am in a box and the fluid starts pouring…_

I wake covered in sweat. The sheet is tangled in my legs and for a moment panic grabs me. The darkness is oppressive. I've never been afraid of the dark before. It's constituted a third of my life, as safe as my mother's arms it used to be. Now it lies heavy on my chest, trapping me, for the second time in as many nights. And I can't stay where I am.

The sheets stick to my skin and it takes a moment for me to peel them off. As soon as I am free I scramble out of bed. The cool floor is balsam to my feet, waking me up properly and chasing away a bit of the night terrors. My path takes me up to the skylights and I drink in the space above my head. With a little imagination I can pretend that there is no glass between me and the sky.

I stand for a while, eyes half closed and face turned up, and let the starlight wash over me. The sweat is cooling on my skin, but the dream lingers with me. Yesterday I dreamed of the Great Ring and then the visitors arrived. I can't help feeling that tonight's dream means something too. Before the thought is fully formed I am headed down the stairs toward the visitors' room.

The lights are on in the last corridor. I creep around the corner. There are no guards so I approach the door. After another moment's hesitation I give it a swift rap with my knuckles. I wait anxiously, my nerves so tightly wound that I jump when the door opens. I try to hide it.

"Hello?" It's the one with glasses, Daniel.

"Hi," I say and give a little curtsy. My mother taught me good manners. He smiles and steps aside.

"Do you want to come in?"

The room they've received is sparse, but lit like the middle of the day. The visitors must be afraid of the dark. Four beds have been put in for them and a table with chairs. I can tell none of the furniture was here before someone decided to house the visitors here.

To my surprise Daniel is not the only one awake. The other three are sitting or lounging on their beds. I feel their eyes on me, evaluating, curious, wondering what I am doing here. I start to wonder myself. Then I remember professor Colch and I lift up my chin.

"Hi. My name is Dila. I…wanted to meet you."

The elder, O'Neill, sits up and gives me an appraising look.

"A crafty girl, ey? And how come you wanted to see us so badly that you traipsed over here at three in the morning in just your jammies?"

His words make me self-conscious again, and I notice that I am in fact wearing nothing but my sleeping gear. But I did have a good reason to come.

"I think you might be in danger."

"Danger, huh? What a change for us."

"Perhaps you should sit down," Daniel cuts in, and offers me a chair. "I think we all have some questions to ask. Why don't you start and tell us a little about this place?"

I sit and try to gather my thoughts. Four pair of eyes lay on me, waiting.

"Where should I start?"

"How 'bout what happened out there?" O'Neill jerks his thumb in a vague gesture towards the Outerworld.

"Well, as history tells it, the scourge arrived."

"The scourge?"

"A sickness that killed most of our planet's population. No one knows where it came from and no one was safe. It was in the air, everywhere, getting to everyone. Refuge complexes were built but only a few managed to get inside. This complex – we call it the Fuge – only got half full. They had to lock the doors and leave many outside or risk the scourge getting inside."

"So everyone outside was just left to die?" There's accusation in O'Neill's voice. I have no answer to give him. No defense on behalf of my forefathers. I think about it often myself in fact, whether no more could have been saved. Daniel catches my eyes and smiles reassuringly.

"How long ago was this?"

"A hundred and twelve years."

"And no one has come in or out in all that time?"

I shake my head. "The Finders go out sometimes. They're the search team that came to find you. They take measurements to see if the scourge is gone, and look for things we can use. But no one new has come to us before you. Did you really come from another planet?"

"Yes." Daniel's voice is warm. "Our planet is called Earth. We came through the Stargate."

"The Great Ring? I know. I saw you."

O'Neill straightens up. I see intelligence in his eyes, calculation.

"You saw us? How? I didn't think you could go outside."

"There are skylights on the roof. I like to watch the city whenever I can. I was up there yesterday morning, because I couldn't sleep. I had a dream that I ran to the Great Ring and I was waiting for something to happen. I had to see the Ring. And then you came."

I can tell they are skeptical, and I don't blame them. I've never known a place where adults put stock in the dreams of a girl. But they have to believe. If they don't there is no way I can stop what I saw from coming true. A cold hand grasps at my heart. They have to believe.

"I had another dream. Tonight. I dreamed you were in danger, dying. I came to warn you. I think you may die if you stay here."

O'Neill considers me, his head cocked to the side. At least he doesn't rush to brush off danger.

"Carter," he says, thoughtfully. "What's your threat assessment?"

"They haven't shown any hostility, sir." Her voice is curt and formal, but it has an undertone of affection.

"What about the tests? Any risk there?"

"No, sir. You know they just drew some blood and took a few small tissue samples. They didn't say what tests they were going to run but there isn't much they can do with what they got."

"But you _are_ in danger!" I can't contain my desperation now, my voice pitching when I object. "I saw it, just like I saw you coming."

Daniel claps my hand, reassuringly.

"Sam," he says, to the woman. "Did they say why they wanted to do those tests?"

"No…"

"Smelling something fishy, Danny?" asks O'Neill. Daniel frowns and adjusts his glasses.

"Maybe. I don't think it would hurt to be on our guard."

For some reason O'Neill appears to relax at these words. He leans back on his bed with his hands behind his head. His voice turns to a derisive drawl.

"Ah, you know me. I never stop being on my guard."

Daniel grins and rolls his eyes. I'm getting the feeling there's a joke here that I'm not in on. My confusion must be obvious, because he quickly sobers.

"Thank you," he says. "We do take your warning seriously, and we will be careful."

I bite my lip. I suppose it's as good as I'm gonna get.

"I should get back to bed before the morning bell tolls."


	5. The Visitors - Chapter 5

Another day and again I have problems concentrating. We have Mrs. Flooy this morning and she is droning on about the development of food technologies.

"The processing of diverse organic matter into nutritional foodstuffs is one of the great technological advances of the post-scourge era. It is a truly revolutionary method to produce food, which drastically reduced the mortality rate inside the Fuge. As you all know…"

She goes on to show us diagrams and schematics of the processors, explaining in detail the liquefaction procedure and the importance of the melding agent. Something tugs at my mind. Something I have to remember. I realize I have zoned out, not focusing on the images flipping by on the screen. I blink hard. Try to concentrate. I don't need detention on top of everything right now.

The current image shows one of the liquefaction chambers located down in the basement. I remember seeing them for real once, when grandmother died. The L-Hall is where we hold our funerals. Nothing is wasted in the Fuge, not even the bodies of the dead. I read somewhere that before the scourge people would bury them, but we can't afford that. We haven't got the space, and we can't put prime nutrients in the ground to rot. I wonder if we'll ever return to the burying.

It comes to me like a lightning bolt and I have to stifle a cry. I try to turn it into a cough. Now I can concentrate even less. The time until lunch break is suddenly an eternity. Every word Mrs. Flooy utters burns in me; it is like I'm swallowing hot coals that land in the pit of my stomach. When we are finally dismissed I am the first one out the door.

I find the visitors in the food hall, sitting a little apart from everyone else. Or perhaps it is everyone else who are sitting apart from them. I grab my rations on a tray and head over to their table.

"May I sit with you?"

They nod and smile, scooting over to give me room. I sit and start to spoon today's sludge into my mouth. O'Neill stares at me in disbelief. I try to flash him a smile around the spoon.

"How can you eat that stuff?" His voice is as incredulous as his face, and belatedly I notice that the visitors' bowls have barely been touched.

I shrug and say, "You just try not to think of it and swallow. Besides, there's nothing else so it's eat or starve."

He eyes the content of his bowl critically. Tentatively he lifts a spoonful into the air and lets it drip down.

"Do I want to know what's in this?"

My face twists in a crooked smirk.

"I doubt it. But I might _have_ to tell you."

"Is it related to that danger you think we're in?" He seems somewhat relieved at the prospect. I nod because my mouth is full with the last spoonful of my meal. I can't help throwing a covetous glance at his bowl.

"You want this?"

He slides the bowl over to me and I dig in. One ration is enough to sustain a grown man, but it doesn't really fill you up. I can't remember the last time my stomach didn't at least have a small hungry hole in it. Between the bites I try to continue the conversation.

"It is." Glop. "I figured out…" Glug. "…how you'll die."

"And you saw this in your dream?"

"Yes." Slurp. "I saw you in the liquefaction chambers. You were alive when they turned them on. I suspect it is a horrific way to die."

Carter leans forward, intrigued.

"What are the liquefaction chambers?"

"It's the part of lunch you don't want to hear about. Simply put, it's how we make our food. Organic matter is placed in the chamber and this…" I indicate my second almost empty bowl "…comes out."

They all stare at me, different emotions playing on their faces. O'Neill looks disgusted, Carter simply unbelieving, and Daniel looks like he might throw up. Only the dark one, Teal'c, looks almost unperturbed. In the end it is he who speaks first, posing the question on all their minds.

"For what reason would we be put in such a device?"

"I don't know. Could it have something to do with the tests?"

Carter nods ponderingly.

"It is possible. The elders are stonewalling me about the results. Sir, I think we should try to get a look for ourselves."

* * *

Afternoon lessons cement my theory that school has been turned into torture. I used to enjoy learning. Just sitting in the classroom or the library and soak in the knowledge. Everything the teachers told us used to fascinate me. Now all I can think of is the visitors and my dreams.

I wanted to go with them to the labs, but they wouldn't let me. Said I was too young and that I'd be safer going about my daily routine so no one would suspect. I still worry it's written on my face, that anyone can tell I got something to hide.

Somehow I make it to the end of lessons and hurry to dinner. If all has gone according to plan the visitors will meet me there. If it didn't… I get my rations and find a seat. The visitors are nowhere to be seen. If I hadn't eliminated thinking from the process of eating at an early age I might have had problems getting the food down now. I drum my fingers on the tabletop. Then I realize it might look suspicious and stop. Speaking of which, me sitting here too long is suspicious too. I never linger too long at meals. Reluctantly I get up and hand my tray in to the dishes. Since I don't know what else to do I head for the roof. After all, it is part of my routine.

The sun is setting early today. The space under the skylight is already full of shadows and I can only just make out the Great Ring in its park.

"Psst!"

I spin around like the top I used to play with when I was younger. My heart feels like it is trying to make its way up my throat and block the air supply to my lungs. Four newly familiar figures appear out of the shadows and I can tell the corners of my mouth are turning up.

"Daniel, Carter, O'Neill, Teal'c, you're safe!"

"Relatively." O'Neill's voice has a wry tone that suggests they may have been closer to not safe than he likes. He looks me in the eye, sizing me up. Somehow he manages to look remorseful at the same time. "Dila, I hate to do this, but we need to ask something of you."

I nod silently. I am too excited to form words. He looks away, out the window like I do so often. He keeps his eyes fixed there as he continues.

"You were right; we're on the menu. We need to get out of here, but we noticed there's some rigid security surrounding the exit. Can you help us get through?"

I nod again, but this time I find some words as well, "Take me with you."


	6. The Visitors - Chapter 6

The plan springs into action just after lights out. I make sure I'm last in the bathroom and on my way to back I slink into the men's sleeping hall. Everyone is already in bed, their snores echoing from wall to wall. I sneak on silent feet between the beds until I find Mr. Gar. He's a despicable being – that's how I justify giving him the blame for what I am about to do.

I search the pockets in his jacket and find the access card just where I knew it would be. We trust each other in the Fuge, and tonight I will exploit that fact. I dig under the clothes and find the gun as well. I've never held a weapon before. It is heavier than I expected, and it sends a chill up my spine. In a flash I realize I don't want to know how it feels to fire it. I bring it anyways.

I don't return to the children's sleeping hall. I've already brought the few belongings I want to keep. The other children will just assume I'll go to bed late – I do it often enough – and until the lights come on in the morning no one will know that I am gone.

My next stop is the suit room. The visitors may be immune to the scourge but I'm gonna need protection if I am to survive the trip outside. I just hope I won't have to wear it for the rest of my days on their planet. The room is empty and I quickly find a suit roughly in my size. I bundle it up and head for the meeting place not far from the exit passage.

While I did my fetching, the visitors have done theirs. They meet me in full battle gear, with small odd looking weapons in their hands. Perhaps I will not have to use my gun. I wriggle into the protective suit. It's a little too big but it'll do.

"Ready?" whispers O'Neill.

"Ready," I and the other visitors reply.

He sets us into action with a hand gesture that's barely visible in the gloom. I wanted to lead the way, but O'Neill didn't like that idea. I told him they'd get lost in no time in the darkness, but he just smiled. I understand now. All of them carry a small lamp in their free hand. I guide from the rear instead, telling him to go left or right.

At the last corner before the air lock we slow down. O'Neill and Teal'c peek around the corner and fire their weapons in unison. Two flashes of blue fire arch through the air and connect with the peacekeepers at the door. Without a sound they collapse. In a whisper Daniel assures me they are not hurt but merely rendered unconscious.

On O'Neill's signal I rush to the door and swipe the access card. A green light blinks and the door opens with a hiss. We are past the first door. I adjust my suit before we proceed to the next one. Despite everything, this is where it starts to get really dangerous.

In a synchronized, almost fluid series of motions we proceed and soon we stand before the last door. I am already well into unknown territory, but outside this door lies a world I have spent my life dreaming of. I swipe the card and a last hiss fills the air. Drunk on victory we rush into the open. I follow the visitors, curbing my enthusiasm for having the actual sky above my head and that nothing but a suit separates me from the open air. Nonetheless a silly grin takes up residence on my face.

Halfway to the first corner a sharp pop sounds behind us. Carter grabs for my arm and yanks me sideways, and then we are running as the air is filled with bangs and the whizz of bullets. We turn around the corner and O'Neill fires his lightning gun blindly behind us. He urges us on and we are running again.

"Which way?" Carter asks, and I try to gather my senses.

"Right, I think."

We keep running until it is silent behind us. O'Neill tells us to 'take five', which turns out to mean resting. After I catch my breath I find it easier to think. I start to look around for landmarks. It's difficult to recognize from a ground perspective what I have spent years watching from above, but I manage. I turn to my fellow escapees victoriously.

"I'm pretty sure I know the way to the Great Ring."

Their reactions are somewhat underwhelming, their faces sad and grim. Daniel gets to his feet and approaches me. The air about him reminds me of when my grandmother died and everyone was walking on eggshells around me for a week.

"What's wrong?"

He clears his throat, uncomfortably, then he points at my arm. I follow his gaze to the orange airtight fabric enclosing every inch of me. Protecting me. There's a tear in it.

The breath catches in my throat. It is as if I can feel the sickness working in me already. In my mind I run through everything I know about the scourge. It was airborne, so I've definitely got it. I wonder if I can remember the symptoms. It doesn't matter – I'll be experiencing them soon enough.

A loud rip yanks me back from the edge of panic. Carter is by my side with a roll of bandage in her hands. She wraps it tightly around my arm, covering the tear. It's too late, I want to tell her, but the words won't come out. All that escapes me is a whimper that I suck back at once. I am _not_ going to cry. Carter grabs my shoulders. Makes me look her in the eye.

"Dila," she says. "What do you know of this sickness? How long do we have?"

I blink the tears away and think again.

"It is slow acting. I will live a couple of more days."

"Good." She smiles. "Then we'll go home and our doctor – she's the best – she'll fix you up."

I swallow back my protests. If she wants to believe that I will live I can't take that away from her. It's just me who has to come to terms with it. Our forefather's doctors tried for years to find a cure for the scourge, but they were forced to give up and hide away from it instead. I let Carter help me to my feet and give her the directions to the Great Ring.

It's marvelous up close, just as I dreamed it would be. Carter tells me to step back as Daniel steps up to a pillar console and pushes a series of buttons. Each push sends the Ring spinning and lights up one of the red beacons along its rim. Upon the seventh symbol the blue light appears, like a huge sideways water splash that settles into a gravity defying puddle. I climb the stairs. No one stops me so I assume it is safe. Lifting my hand to touch the rippling surface I wish I wasn't wearing the suit. I wonder how the blue feels to touch. Daniel appears by my side. He's smiling.

"It's easy."

He takes my hand and leads me into the puddle. It is nothing like falling into water. More like blinking when you step through a door, a transition that takes just a fraction of a moment too long.

The sight that meets me on the other side is strangely familiar. Gray concrete walls reach up and up to dizzying heights. I spin around in awe. Right behind me is the Great Ring – or perhaps another one just like it. Daniel pulls me down a metal ramp toward a group of armed men.

"She's a friend," I hear him tell them. "And she needs a doctor."

I am still staring at my surroundings. In the wall facing the Ring there is a huge window with more people milling behind it. A commanding voice echoes through a PA system.

"Med team to the 'gate room. Dr Fraiser to the 'gate room."

The rest of the visitors have come through the Ring now and the blue disappears. Somehow I can feel it cutting off the frail connection to my home world, almost certainly forever. But then again, forever isn't so long when you are soon to die. Tears fill my eyes and this time I can't fight them. My vision blurs and with a gasp of pain I sink to my knees. A multitude of hands grab me but the world is fading fast. The last sound I hear is the voice of a woman shouting commands with more authority than I have heard in any man.


	7. The Visitors - Chapter 7

Consciousness returns more slowly than it went. First come the sounds; a soft rhythmic beeping and the murmur of hushed voices. Then light that dissolves into shapes, slowly gaining clarity. The first thing I see is a lamp that flickers at irregular intervals. I quickly surmise that I'm in a bed and that I am not wearing my protective suit. I turn my head and sight the owners of the voices. I recognize two at once, Carter and Daniel. There's also a stout man with the air of commander and a short woman in a white coat. She has to be the doctor. I strain to hear what they are saying.

"It's an unknown pathogen, sir. Most likely native to P3A-421. The extraordinary thing is that even though this disease doesn't exist here on Earth, everyone I have tested show a strong active immunity to it. And we've tested pretty much everyone on the base, sir."

"Does that mean we can we synthesize a cure for our guest?"

"I believe so."

"Good, get…"

"Ey, doc! She's awake."

I know that voice. I spin my head around so fast I get a little dizzy. O'Neill is seated on the bed next to mine, eating something yellowish and half translucent from a cup. He waves at me with the spoon and lobs another load into his mouth.

The doctor appears on my left. She looks kind.

"Hi, there. I'm Dr. Fraiser. You're going to be okay, kid."

Instinctively I shake my head and protest, tears welling up in my eyes.

"There is no cure for the scourge."

She places a reassuring hand on my shoulder.

"Don't you worry. We'll make one."

"How? My people have tried for years and failed. It's impossible."

"Our people are immune to the 'scourge'. We have a kind of medicine in our bodies and we can transfer it to you."

I am at a loss for words. I stare at her with my mouth half open. She pats me on the shoulder and leaves with a smile. The commander gives me a nod.

"Welcome to Earth," he says and leaves as well, trailed by Carter and Daniel, who both give me a wave goodbye.

That only leaves O'Neill. He makes no move to leave, just readjusts his seat on the bed and scrapes the bottom of his cup.

"Is that stuff any good?" I ask him and he grins.

"I could even tell you what's in it. Nurse! Can we have some more jello here? And remember, no green."

* * *

 **The End**

 **...for now**


End file.
